The Hum

It's a menace that drives thousands to distraction and has been blamed on everything from UFOs to nuclear submarines. A scientist claims he's found the cause. Our man (who's heard it) listens in...

To the unaffected, it sounds suspiciously like a case of mass hysteria. It is the stuff of dark conspiracies, cover-ups and general spookiness. But to 'sufferers', if that is the right word, this mysterious throbbing noise, which never goes away and exists right on the brink of perception, is real and concrete enough to ruin lives.

I have only experienced 'The Hum' - at least, I assume it was The Hum - once. I was about eight or nine years old, and I remember becoming aware of a rumbling noise, half-way between a distant pneumatic drill and a badly tuned diesel engine. It happened in the dead of night, and kept me awake for hours.

I opened my window and turned my head this way and that in a futile attempt to locate the origin of the sound, which seemed to be emanating from the end of our quiet street.

'The Hum' has been blamed on many things, but one thing is sure: It is maddening for those who hear it

In desperation, I woke up the rest of my family to see if they could hear it - they couldn't - and I even got dressed and went out in search of the noise, accompanied by the dog.

It was all to no avail. No one could hear what I was hearing (not even the dog), and I never got to the bottom of the mystery of the noise. It returned on a couple of subsequent evenings and then vanished, never to be heard again - by me at least.

For the noise wasn't, it turns out, just a figment of my imagination. Indeed, The Hum - as it is now known - is a mysterious phenomenon which has been reported by thousands of people around the world.

Le Mans

The 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: 24 Heures du Mans) is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing,^[1] held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining mechanical damage to the car and manage the cars' consumables, primarily fuel, tyres and braking materials. The endurance of the drivers is likewise tested as drivers frequently spend stints of over two hours behind the wheel before stopping in the pits and allowing a relief driver to take over the driving duties. Drivers then grab what food and rest as they can before returning to drive another stint. Today it is mandated that three drivers share each competing vehicle.

The race is organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and runs on the Circuit de la Sarthe, a circuit containing a mix of closed public roads and specialist motor racing circuit that are meant not only to test a car and driver's ability to be quick, but also to last over a 24 hour period. The competing teams will race in groups called classes for cars of similar specification while at the same time competing for outright placing amongst all of the classes. Originally the race was held for cars as they were sold to the general public which were then called Sports Cars compared to the specialist racing cars used in Grands Prix. Over time the competing vehicles evolved away from their publicly-available road car roots and today the race is made of two classes specialised enclosed-bodywork two-seat Prototype sports cars and two classes of Grand Touring cars which bear much closer resemblance to high performance sports cars as sold to the public.^[2]

Competing teams have had a wide variety of organisation, ranging from competition departments of road car manufacturers who are eager to prove the supremacy of their products, to professional motor racing teams who represent their commercial backers, some of which are also road car manufacturers attempting to win without the expense of setting up their own teams, to amateur race teams, racing as much to compete in the famous race as to claim victory for their commercial partners.

The race is held near the height of the European summer in June, leading at times to very hot weather conditions for the drivers, particularly in closed roof vehicles whose cabins can heat up to uncomfortably hot temperatures with generally poor ventilation; rain, however, is not uncommon. The race begins in mid-afternoon, racing through the night and following morning before finishing at the same time the race started, the following day.^[3] Over the 24 hour period modern competitors will complete race distances well over 5000 kilometres. The present record is 5410 kilometres, recorded in the 2010 race.^[4] It is a distance over six times longer than the Indianapolis 500, or approximately 18 times longer than a Formula One Grand Prix.

The race has over the years inspired imitating races all over the globe, popularising the 24 Hour format at places like Daytona, Nurburgring, Spa-Francorchamps, Sebring and Mount Panorama. Presently the American Le Mans Series and the European based Le Mans Series of multi-event sports car championships have been spun off from 24 Hours of Le Mans regulations. Other races include the Le Mans Classic, a race for historic Le Mans race cars of years past held on the Circuit de la Sarthe, a motorcycle version of the race which is held on the shortened Bugatti version of the same circuit, a kart race (24 Heures Karting) and a truck race (24 Heures Camions).

NY Bike Lane Crashes

Casey Neistat smashes blocked NY bike lanes

Mr Neistat and his brother Van are creators of The Neistat Brothers, an HBO programme

A New York City filmmaker and cyclist has launched a painful online crusade to push authorities to ticket motorists who park in bike lanes.

In May, a policeman gave Casey Neistat a $50 (£31) fine for riding in a traffic lane, dismissing his plea that the bike lane was dangerously blocked.

To prove his point, Mr Neistat created a video in which he is shown crashing into a series of bike lane obstacles.

The video has become a YouTube hit, garnering almost a million views.

In the video, Mr Neistat crashes into a taxi, a traffic cone, construction kit and finally, a police car - none of which he had placed there for the video shoot.

"Everything we found, I crashed into," Mr Neistat told the local CBS television affiliate. "I refused to leave the bike lane."

He said the falls were not as painful as they looked because skateboarding experience taught him to fall safely.

New York City has dramatically expanded its network of bike lanes in recent years, but cyclists have complained the lanes are disregarded by delivery trucks and police, who use them as an extra parking lane, and by pedestrians, who use them to escape congested pavement.

James Ward - Tennis

British number two James Ward continued his incredible run at Queen's Club by posting two victories on a dramatic day to join Andy Murray in the semi-finals.

The Londoner, ranked 216 in the world, completed a rain-delayed third-round match against defending champion Sam Querrey, before returning a little over three hours later to defeat world number 54 Adrian Mannarino 6-2 6-7 (14-16) 6-4 in the quarter-finals.

Ward goes on to face another Frenchman, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who earlier upset world number one Rafael Nadal in three sets.

With Murray already through to the semis thanks to a walkover, following of an injury to Marin Cilic, Britain has two semi-finalists at Queen's for the first time since the Open era began in 1968.

And Ward, 24, can now look forward to his first semi-final on the ATP World Tour, as well as picking up a cheque for at least £22,566 for reaching the last four.

"Unbelievable," said the Englishman, who beat fourth seed Stanislas Wawrinka in round two.

"I didn't expect it at all. It was nail-biting, to say the least, but I got through it. I was just as tight as everyone else to be honest. There was a bit of everything in the match, a bit of luck as well."

Ward had returned to action just after 2pm to complete the match against Querrey after bad light stopped play on Thursday evening with the score level at one set all, and he got the key break to clinch the decider and a 3-6 6-3 6-4 win.